Oakland targeting language barriers

Acknowledging that no single ethnic group is a majority in Oakland, the city council is set to vote next week on what may be the first ordinance in California to require a city to hire more bilingual employees.

Oakland's proposal reflects the Bay Area's growing diversity and the challenges facing municipalities as they strive to meet the needs of people with limited or non-existent English skills.

San Francisco supervisors will consider a similar measure next month.

The Oakland ordinance would initially result in the hiring of many more Spanish- or Chinese-speaking workers.

``It's no secret that we have a diverse community,'' said Oakland City Council President Ignacio de la Fuente, a Mexican immigrant.

``It's our responsibility to provide equal access. Some people may see it as special treatment; I see it as a way to make sure people understand their duties and rights. It's our responsibility.''

Census figures released last month show Oakland, with nearly 400,000 residents, is now 36.7 percent black, 23.5 percent white, 21.9 percent Latino and 17.1 percent Asian. Oakland lost 13,000 to 19,000 blacks during the decade, while the number of whites also decreased by at least 3,000 and by as much as 12,000.

Statewide, California's minorities became a majority in 2000. Whites make up just 47 percent of the state's 33.9 million.

The Oakland ordinance would require the city to hire a ``sufficient number'' of bilingual employees in all positions with public contact, from the clerks at front counters in City Hall to police officers who work beats in heavily Chinese or Latino neighborhoods. Dozens of departments, from the illegal dumping hotline to the zoning counter, would be affected.

Vote set for Tuesday

Each department will assess what constitutes a sufficient number for every language spoken by 10,000 or more people with limited English skills. In Oakland, based on 1990 census data, those languages are Spanish and Chinese. The 2000 data on languages has not been released.

The proposal, set for a Tuesday vote, also calls for all vital city documents distributed to the public to be translated, and for multilingual telephone messages in all of its departments.

De la Fuente and Councilman Danny Wan, a Chinese immigrant, drafted the ordinance after finding that city employees were unable to communicate with people because of the language barrier.

Wan, who was appointed to the Oakland City Council in September, said in his third week in office a security guard at City Hall tracked him down so he could translate directions to a Chinese speaker. That got Wan thinking that more bilingual staff members were necessary, and he has subsequently received numerous complaints from Oakland residents about the trouble they have had communicating with city employees.

The cost of providing these services is estimated at about $350,000 for the next two years, largely for translation services. It would be up to city departments to figure out how many new bilingual hires would be needed. The city, which employs about 4,500 people, has about 300 vacancies.

The policy, if approved, is expected to be phased in during two years.

No city employee can be fired because he or she isn't bilingual.

Advocates say Oakland would be the first California city to establish this sort of policy by local ordinance. Oakland, however, is largely following a state law that requires more bilingual workers when non-English-speaking populations grow, but leaves it up to local municipalities to develop guidelines. No other city has responded to this extent.

``It's the best thing that Oakland has done in a long time. It shows that they're going to implement their commitment to diversity, and it's about time,'' said Luz Buitrago, executive director for Law Center for Families in Oakland, a legal non-profit organization that serves primarily low-income and limited-English speakers. ``At least one city takes its obligations seriously.''

Mauro Mujica, chairman of the advocacy group U.S. English, told the Los Angeles Times that immigrants were ``uninvited guests'' and needed to learn English. While Mujica thought hiring some bilingual government workers was fine, he said, institutionalizing it sets ``a bad precedent.''

Legislation in S.F.

San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno has proposed similar legislation that will go before a key committee in May. It must then be approved by the full San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

A quarter of San Francisco residents are not fluent in English, according to 1999 census estimates.

And numbers released last month show the city's Asian-American population has grown 24.5 percent in the past 10 years, and the Latino population has risen 8.7 percent.

San Jose is making some efforts to expand the number of bilingual city employees.

The San Jose Fire Department last year said bilingual applicants who can speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin or Tagalog do not need a college degree to take the firefighter test.

San Jose has established a goal of having a bilingual worker at every fire station on every shift. Bilingual employees are paid a premium, City Manager Del Borgsdorf said.

In addition, San Jose public outreach manager Tom Manheim said the city is trying to staff neighborhood centers with bilingual workers, particularly Vietnamese and Spanish speakers.